Category Archives: automotive
fw: an open letter to Lancia
Came across this interesting “letter to lancia” on a site called Petrolblog.
http://petrolblog.com/2010/06/24/an-open-letter-to-lancia/
I gotta agree with you MajorGav, Lancia has lost the plot and really needs to get back to their identity. The stuff they have been releasing for several years is GHASTLY……and in my opinion; Lancia might be THE biggest waste of a marque i’ve witnessed….amazing how Fiat just turned that company into slop.
But i gotta remind my friends over at Petrolblog, that Lancia is now going to be shacked up very closely to Chrysler; and it seems that for the time being, the identity of Lancia will continue to be lost. A friend of mine who works in the auto industry had told me a couple years ago that there was a good chance that Lancia was going to be shut down; but now it seems they’ve found a new use for the marque Lancia. It’s going to serve as a channel to pass Chrysler products into Europe. What a shame.
It’s been said that the next generation Chrysler 300C is going to become Lancia’s flagship car in Europe….but the worst part is: there are supposedly only minimal changes done to the badges and the grille before it will be sold as a Lancia…….if that’s true, Lancia will be all but dead in my opinion…if it isn’t already. I wish VW would buy Lancia and bring it back properly……imagine a Delta Integrale based on a modified R32/R20 platform? That’d be pretty sweet.
Jaguar XK-R 75
Jaguar has been a pretty boring company for several years now, although lately it’s all been improving dramatically. One of the significant problems is the current lack of identity, however. Everytime i see a ‘new’ Jaguar sedan, it looks like a cross between an Audi A6 wannabe and a Jaguar. What happened to the identity, lads!?
Anyways, the new XK-R 75 looks pretty damn slick. 530hp, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, limited edition to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar. Pretty interesting paint job going on as well…
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/250678/
NSU Ro80. weird or wonderful?
I can never really decide. The design of the NSU Ro80 always leaves me feeling weird….on one side, i find its proportions to be utterly fascinating and awkward (in a good way)…..on the other side, i find it to be very dysfunctional and awkward (in a bad way).
There is no denying, however, that the Ro80 was WAY ahead when it came to design….considering it was originally launched in 1967 (wow). A very modern design….which surely influenced alot of cars after it….especially AUDI, the company that some of NSU warped into…
Toyota 2000GT for sale…in the US.
Bring A Trailer….today i saw this stunning Toyota 2000GT for sale on there. Price? $375,000. All types of hotness….and very rare to see for sale in the US.
http://bringatrailer.com/2010/06/21/bat-exclusive-preserved-1967-toyota-2000gt/
what’s in the box?
found a box of cars while packing for a move…anyone wanna take guesses on the identify of these cars?
Audi conquers Le Mans 2010. 1-2-3.
Monsieur Peugeot must be pissed! Audi delivered their TDI power reliably, taking on an defeating Peugeot on their home turf. Audi is now tied with Ferrari for all time wins there, with Porsche leading everybody.
Audi USA have a flickr photostream going on with 100s of photos of the Le Mans weekend. Here are some of my favourites of the R15 TDI. See the rest at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/audiusa
a proud day to be an Audiphile as I am.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
foto of the day. TT-R DTM
Audi TT-R DTM Test Car….so cool.
Bugatti 16c Galibier: 2013 production
the good folks over at Bugatti Passion are reporting that the supersedan 16c Galibier has received a green light to go into production in 2013. Supposedly the Veyron ends its production in 2012. Whether there will be a “GT” version of the Veyron pushing 1300hp (!!!) is still a question mark….but the signs point towards it being a possibility!
The price of the next Bugatti supersedan? $1.4 milion. I’ll wait for the CPO one on discount, thanksverymuch.
foto of the day. 700.
the (virtually unknown) BMW 700 and its original production line.
Some info about the BMW 700:
The driving force behind the ‘700’ project was not only the BMW development department but in particular the Viennese BMW importer Wolfgang Denzel, a friend of the then BMW boarch chairman, Dr. Richter-Brohm. Largely on his own initiative, Denzel began to develop a sporty small car for BMW, having had some experience of automobile construction himself. The technical basis was to be provided by the chassis and the engine of the BMW 600. This small four-seater, derived from the Isetta, had remained somewhat unsuccessful due to it’s unorthodox body, not because of technical shortcomings.
Denzel entrusted the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti with the design of the body. In mid January 1958, Denzel then received the official development contract, and a body design was developed in his workshops.
On July 30th 1958, Denzel presented the finished prototype of the Coupé to the BMW board of directors, as developed by himself in collaboration with Michelotti. All in all, the car’s modern Italian influenced style was well received. However, a certain amount of criticism was expressed, in particular on the question of suitability for economical manufacture. The BMW design department under Wilhelm Hofmeister was then instructed to come up with a competing design, though retaining the characteristic stylistic elements of Michelotti prototype. At the same time, Helmut-Werner Bönsch, the new BMW director of product planning and marketing, encouraged the development of a saloon version.
more info: http://www.bmw700.net/index.php?lng_id=en
Peugeot 505 and the Sterling 825 SL
In 1987, my mum ALMOST bought a Peugeot 505. However ever since then, i’ve always had a huge soft spot for that car….because even back then, i really wanted that car. I thought it was beautiful when i was a kid. I loved the weird front lights, and the nicely proportioned design. I still think the car looks really damn good……for its age.
Oddly enough, the car she DID buy instead of the Peugeot 505 was another car that i really wanted…….*drumroll*…….a Sterling 825 SL! Remember those? yeah that’s right, an Acura Legend with a british interior, electronics, and styling…..the first car I ever crashed and the first car I ever lost control of going too fast……fun car to drive, but quite an oddball. I still remember how that car’s steering got SUPER stiff at high speeds (over 90 mph), as if its power steering had failed—-but it was actually just a performance measure. Nice interior…pretty posh for an 80s car.
Alfa Romeo Museo Storico
My fellow Brooklyn dweller over at Automobiliac has just paid a visit over to the Alfa Romeo Museo Storica in Arese, Italy. He’s also taken some great photos, and here are just a few to check out. Click on the link below to see the rest of them…..i’m properly jealous!
http://www.automobiliac.com/automobiliac-gallery/alfa-romeo-museo-storico/
Porsche Boxster Spyder delivered…
Not mine, of course….but a friend of mine and a previous (multiple) TT owner has taken delivery of his brand new white Porsche Boxster Spyder. Pretty aggressive looking car, with some very interesting design cues pertaining to the roof. The interior looks fantastic. These are the first ‘real world’ pics of this car i’ve seen, and it looks much better than the official pics that were released! Must be a helluvalot of fun to throw around turns!
Thanks to Quattive for letting me post pics of his car.
more info on the Boxster Spyder:
foto of the day. p1800.
i’ve always loved old Volvos…and this is just great!
tuned classic Volvo p1800.
more info: start: http://www.v-performance.com/
3 reasons why IEDEI does NOT like the VW Scirocco.
I’ve grown quite tired of people gushing over the “good looking” VW Scirocco. I’ve seen several in person and I find it to be quite an ugly little machine. A couple reasons why the Scirocco makes no sense to me:
1. It is a low budget, uglier, misproportioned, and german copy of the Alfa Romeo Brera. Sure the Brera may suck to drive, but who cares!!! It is drop dead gorgeous.
2. The MK2 Audi TT is a better car; better interior, better proportions, and much more interesting to look at. Of course I concede that the MK2 TT is a much uglier and nastier affair than the original MK1 TT which will go down as one of the 20th centuries landmark automotive designs; but the MK2 is close enough to the MK1 that it can carry at least a little bit of that over in legacy. The argument that the TT is a “squashed Beetle” is countered by the fact that the Scirocco is a “squashed Golf”.
3. The “new” Scirocco carries almost NONE of the passion the beautiful ORIGINAL Scirocco carried. The original had very unique proportions in its time, different to the other notchbacks of the time (Audi Quattro, Alfa GTV, etc). It was small and cool. The new Scirocco is bulkier than a Golf, worse proportioned than a Golf (i much prefer the looks of the MK6 Golf to the Scirocco), and doesn’t really perform any different than a Golf.
the art of Nicolas Cancelier
Thanks to Motorsport Retro for turning me on to this artist, Nicolas Cancelier. Some great stuff going on here, I especially love the colours he is using to capture the time of these cars. Very cool. These are available for purchase as large, high quality prints as well. Please inquire with Nicolas directly through the links provided.
http://nicolascancelierrepros.blogspot.com/
http://www.nicolascancelier.be/
Audi RS5 to the USA!
click on foto to enlarge:
Confirmed, it seems!
$69,000+ starting price. Not bad, i was expecting a number higher.
LINK for FULL STORY: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/the-audi-rs5-coming-to-the-us-market-ar88583.html
foto of the day. Islero.
along with the Lamborghini Espada, this Lamborghini Islero is one of my absolute favourite Lamborghinis ever made. It followed the original 350GT and 400GT as a reskinned version of those. The styling on this is gorgeous….the first time i saw one in person, i was blown away. Gorgeous. Ferrari? Who needs old Ferraris……i’d happily take me an Espada and an Islero for a fraction of the price…
CLICK TO ENLARGE
weird obscure usage of a BMW 2002 Turbo in a film….
Well this is quite an abstract use of this car! I have no idea what film this is The film is a French-Belgian production called Dikkinek (Thanks to my friend Olivier!) and i’m still not sure what role that BMW 2002 Turbo had in the rest of the film, however it does create a nice backdrop for…..errr…..quite a weird scene?
foto of the day. 35b.
Bugatti Type 35b
Photographer: IEDEI
IEDEI 